Council funds welcoming spaces this winter

More than 70 ‘welcoming spaces and warm places’ will be open around Telford and Wrekin this winter, thanks to new funding from the council.

Telford & Wrekin Council has provided Shropshire Community Foundation with £16,000 funding to support local community and volunteer groups around the borough to provide warm and welcoming spaces.

Across the borough, 33 groups successfully applied to Shropshire Community Foundation for funding for up to £500 each, and as a result this has increased the number of welcoming spaces being hosted across the borough to 71 sessions, offering a warm and friendly environment to meet others, socialise and relax.

Councillor Kelly Middleton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Healthier, Safer & Stronger Communities and Partnerships went along to one of the ‘warm welcome’ sessions being held at Madeley Baptist Church this week. Councillor Kelly Middleton said: “Following the success of the warm spaces we funded around the borough last winter during the height of the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve provided Shropshire Community Fund with £16,000 to make small grants of up to £500 available to new and existing groups to set up Welcoming Spaces this winter around Telford and Wrekin.

“The funding has supported 33 groups to start up or continue to offer welcoming spaces around the borough, all providing warm and welcoming social spaces like the one here at Madeley Baptist Church, for people to meet others, socialise and take part in activities, or just somewhere warm to sit and relax. So often, adult loneliness can be a big challenge, particularly during the winter, so these welcoming spaces are providing a vital lifeline to so many people.”

June Hill, who helps to run the ‘warm welcome’ sessions at Madeley Baptist Church added: “People can come and enjoy the company, the games, the chat or whatever they want to do really. They’re getting something warm if they need it, drinks and all different things.

These sessions offer friendship and companionship, people who come along get so much out of it, and we get so much out of it too, everyone becomes friends.

Telford and Wrekin’s welcoming spaces offer a whole range of social activities including community lunches, tabletop games sessions, craft and chat or just somewhere to sit and relax for an hour or so. Some offer free hot drinks and refreshments, others ask for a small donation or fee.

Timings and days vary between locations, which include Lilleshall, Newport, Wellington, Madeley, Dawley, Oakengates, Woodside, and Muxton. The full list can be found on the Live Well Telford website at: https://www.telford.gov.uk/welcomingspaces